Old homes can talk

Sunday

Feb 10, 2013 at 3:15 AM

CONCORD — Renowned architectural historian Dr. James L. Garvin will present “The Old House Speaks: Learning to Read the Physical Evidence” at the Kimball Jenkins Carriage House in Concord, N.H. on Saturday, February 16, from 10 – 11:30 a.m. The event is sponsored by the N.H. Preservation Alliance.

Garvin will show how to analyze a house’s architectural clues, from its overall style to its door and window construction, hardware, types of finishes used on both woodwork and walls, and more. Together, these elements can help estimate when a house was built and when later changes were made, offering glimpses into the house’s overall history.

Garvin has been deeply involved with history and preservation in New Hampshire from his years as the first curator of the fledgling Strawbery Banke Museum in the 1960s to his position as the state architectural historian with the N.H. Division of Historical Resources. Among his many publications is the award-winning resource book “A Building History of Northern New England.”

After Garvin’s lecture, the Kimball Jenkins Mansion will be open to program participants for self-guided tours. Designed by the firm Cutting & Holman of Worcester, Mass., the house was built in the late 1870s. Its ornate woodwork, marble fireplaces and frescoed ceilings make it an outstanding example of Victorian architecture.

“The Old House Speaks: Learning to Read the Physical Evidence” is a program of the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance. Organizational partners for the lecture are the Concord Heritage Commission, the Kimball-Jenkins Estate, the N.H. Division of Historical Resources and the N.H. Historical Society. Generous sponsors of the Preservation Alliance’s Old House and Barn Program include Bedard Preservation & Restoration; Brown & Brown of New Hampshire, Inc.; Farms & Barns Real Estate; Fifield Building Restoration & Relocation, LLC; First Period Colonial Preservation/Restoration; GE Foundation; Ian Blackman Restoration & Preservation, LLC and Window Master, Inc.